CSI, the screening and targeting of containers at a foreign seaport, did not exist prior to the terrorist attacks of 2001. On average, every day about 25,000 seagoing containers are offloaded at America's seaports. Commissioner Bonner, confirmed by Congress shortly after 9/11, made maritime cargo security one of his top priorities. The Container Security Initiative was launched in January 2002. It is a revolutionary and dynamic initiative to secure maritime cargo shipments against the terrorist threat.
Currently, there are 41 operational CSI ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and South America. Approximately 75 percent of cargo containers headed to the US originate in or are transshipped from CSI ports.
Under the Container Security Initiative, CBP has entered into bilateral partnerships to identify high-risk cargo containers before they are loaded on vessels destined for the United States. Today, a total of 24 additional administrations have committed to join CSI and are at various stages of implementation.
CSI is an accepted model of international cooperation to protect the global supply chain against terrorism. CBP's goal is to have 50 operational CSI ports by the end of 2006. At that time, approximately 90 percent of all transatlantic and transpacific cargo imported into the United States will be subjected to pre-screening.
The World Customs Organization (WCO), the European Union (EU), and the G8, support CSI expansion and have adopted resolutions implementing CSI security measures introduced at ports throughout the world.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of their Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of US laws.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
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